Given some thought to this one. Is it ritual or not? I'd say its the beginning of ritual. You are creating a structure to contain, encourage and control an emotional and spiritual event. In doing this the language used to convey feelings and thoughts is shifted somewhat. Sorry Micca I did not post to the thread about your illness, glad to hear you're better. I find it easier to respond to Seed saying he has friend who is very sick and he's worried than I do to an invitation to join a healing circle to send thoughts towards a sick person. The healing circle is one level of abstraction away from the personal and the immediate. Asking for help because of desperate and life threatening illness is one thing, to set up and discuss a contingency group to do what is already done by members of this group anyway seems superfluous.